Papers of Chris Brooks: partial Hewish manuscript of 'The Motto'

This collection consists of one bound manuscript volume containing volume one of 'The Motto', an unpublished literary manuscript about the life and fortunes of a clergy family, attributed to Hewish, 1864. Inscribed on the frontispiece: 'A birthday gift to dear Mama from the author, Aug 21st 1864'.

It has not been possible to trace who the author of this manuscript is, except that their surname is perhaps Hewish.

Professor Chris Brooks (1949-2002), was one of Britain's leading cultural historians of the Victorian period, and was a former Chair of the prestigious Victorian Society. His library of primary and secondary source Victorian material was donated to the University Library in 2002. The strengths of this book collection reflect Brooks's research and teaching interests in art and architecture, literature, topography, and history.

Born in London in 1949, his family moved to Devon when he was young and, after graduating from Manchester University in 1971, Brooks joined the School of English at Exeter as a tutor in 1974. He became a lecturer in 1976, took his doctorate from Lincoln College, Oxford, in 1979, and later became a professor in Victorian studies at Exeter, where he helped lead the establishment of the Bill Douglas Centre for the History of Cinema and Popular Culture, a museum and resource centre now administered through the University Library's Special Collections. As Chair of the Victorian Society in 1993, he was instrumental in securing the restoration of the Royal Albert Memorial, London, for he took an active role in historic building conservation issues on a local and national level. Chris Brooks died in 2002.

Usual EUL arrangements apply.

Single item only.

Description compiled by Charlotte Berry, Archivist, 21 April 2005, and encoded into EAD 3 June 2005.

Usual EUL restrictions apply.

Transferred from the Chris Brooks Collection of Victorian Culture, Exeter University Library. It is not known how Brooks acquired the volume.

None known.

It is not known whether this item has formed the basis for publication.